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BPN Member
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Wildlife Moderator
.I lowered the shadows and added a wee bit contrast to the BG
Sorry Will, when you say 'lowered the shadows' do you mean you opened the shadows up on the 'Basal knob' to gain detail? If you have then I might peg it back a tad more, so it's going darker. Some I know will love this as is and I do, but with the high contrast in the black knob (the high & low frequency), couple with the sharpening I just feel it's slightly clashing IMHO. The head pose and stark BKG is awesome.
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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BPN Member
Hi Steve....Thanks for that....I moved the shadows slider in RAW to the left which darkened the BG....Once in PS I added some contrast to the BG.....I had a look at adding more contrast, but I wanted a difference in colour between the BG and blacks on the bird....
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Wildlife Moderator
If you added Contrast to the knob that might be what I see Will', as Contrast is a form of 'sharpening'. Was the BKG a dark green? I'm also just wondering about the whites & HL's, going less 'bright' shall we say, brings more of that soft toned creamy plumage and so the detail comes through and therefore less sharpening is required and it just softens things to the eye, but it's you call, just a thought.
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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BPN Member

Originally Posted by
Steve Kaluski
If you added Contrast to the knob that might be what I see Will', as Contrast is a form of 'sharpening'. Was the BKG a dark green? I'm also just wondering about the whites & HL's, going less
'bright' shall we say, brings more of that soft toned creamy plumage and so the detail comes through and therefore less sharpening is required and it just softens things to the eye, but it's you call, just a thought.

I was just happy I never blew the whites
with such a contrast with the blacks on the bird...
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Wildlife Moderator
That’s why the Histogram is you best buddy. That means you can lower the whites to pull detail out and as I say, sharpening is required less. That’s the beauty in shots like this Will.
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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BPN Member

Originally Posted by
Steve Kaluski
That’s why the Histogram is you best buddy. That means you can lower the whites to pull detail out and as I say, sharpening is required less. That’s the beauty in shots like this Will.
Totally agree Steve.....And also, everything we learn on here....goes a long way....to finding better results....Although this was captured a few years ago, I still remember Artie replying to some image....When its a white bird in the sun....1/4000, f/8, ISO 640 works best....I thought about that when I exposed for this shot....and with the bird being slightly shadowed I went 1/3200 f/8 ISO 640 and it worked....
Will
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Wildlife Moderator
.And also, everything we learn on here....goes a long way....to finding better results

Just be mindful Will, at close range you can sometimes start to loose DoF quiet easily...
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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Post a Thank You. - 1 Thanks
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Looks great. A white bird against a dark background. The pose is nice as well. Killer detail.
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Avian Moderator
Gorgeous Will. Water on the brow, fantastic exposure and really nice composition.
Can't really see a thing I'd change. Bravo!
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Love the pose and crop you went with. I also like as posted and wouldn't change anything
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Hi Wil, love the swan against the black background. Wonderful shape to the neck and head, nice timing to capture that. Nice image, thank you for sharing.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
www.amazinglight.smugmug.com
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Lifetime Member
Lovely.
I love the diagonal line starting in RLC leading the eye up the neck and around to the eye.
Whites look good.
I have always loved the white on black so this sits well with me.
IQ
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Macro and Flora Moderator
Beautiful shot Will, pretty darned good, if it were mine I would reduce contrast slightly lowering lights 4-6 and raising dark tones 5-6. I think this small change would make a significant difference.
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BPN Member
Hi Will .... gorgeous concept shot 
Works well for me ...
Cool stuff , TFS Andreas
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Publisher
The curve and the image design are perfect. And the BLACKs and the WHITEs look perfect to me. I would not change anything even a tiny teeny weenie little bit. I especially love how you handled the LRC.
As I've said here before and will likely say again soon, even with calibrated monitors across the board our monitors are different and we view the images in different ambient lighting condition. Thus constant comments like "a wee bit," "a tiny bit," and "maybe, perhaps , just a few points" pretty much seem like a waste of keystrokes to me ...
Lastly, 1/2500 sec. at f/8 at ISO 400 is also a great place to start :)
with love, arite
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Macro and Flora Moderator

Originally Posted by
Arthur Morris
The curve and the image design are perfect. And the BLACKs and the WHITEs look perfect to me. I would not change anything even a tiny teeny weenie little bit. I especially love how you handled the LRC.
As I've said here before and will likely say again soon, even with calibrated monitors across the board our monitors are different and we view the images in different ambient lighting condition. Thus constant comments like "a wee bit," "a tiny bit," and "maybe, perhaps , just a few points" pretty much seem like a waste of keystrokes to me ...
Lastly, 1/2500 sec. at f/8 at ISO 400 is also a great place to start :)
with love, arite
Hi Artie, I have to agree to disagree, I am speaking personally now, the reason I submit images is not to get compliments it is to get genuine critique and suggestions on how they may be improved. I don't necessarily agree with all critique but I always welcome it and I usually try any suggestions offered - very often they are good suggestions no matter how small and this can result in a better image.... and that is what I want. So I would not dismiss any critique of my images however minimal as a waste of keystrokes, quite the reverse.
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BPN Member

Originally Posted by
Jonathan Ashton
Hi Artie, I have to agree to disagree, I am speaking personally now, the reason I submit images is not to get compliments it is to get genuine critique and suggestions on how they may be improved. I don't necessarily agree with all critique but I always welcome it and I usually try any suggestions offered - very often they are good suggestions no matter how small and this can result in a better image.... and that is what I want. So I would not dismiss any critique of my images however minimal as a waste of keystrokes, quite the reverse.
Hi Jon ... i do agree 100% with your opinion about that !!!
Luckily we have the freedom to waste keystrokes ...
Cheers Andreas
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Wow, wow, love the detail on the dark BG
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BPN Member
Thanks for the views and comments......much appreciated.
Will